Sooners upend No. 12 Arkansas
Oklahoma 88, No. 12 Arkansas 66: Elijah Harkless scored 21 points and Oklahoma (8-2) handed Arkansas (9-1) its first loss of the season, frustrating the Razorbacks’ coach and top shooters Saturday in Tulsa, Okla.
Playing at a neutral site less than two hours from both schools, Oklahoma rushed to a 13-0 lead in the first 4:37, helped by two 3-pointers and a drive by Harkless.
Arkansas never caught up and coach Eric Musselman was assessed two technical fouls and ejected with 3:30 to play. He was restrained by his assistant coaches while arguing with an official, and Jordan Goldwire hit four free throws that made it 76-57.
JD Notae, who had been leading the Razorbacks with nearly 19 points a game, was held to 13 on 3-for-14 shooting. Davonte Davis scored a career-high 26 for Arkansas.
No. 8 Kansas 102, Missouri 65: Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points, Christian Braun and Dajuan Harris had 13 apiece, and host Kansas (8-1) roared to a victory over Missouri (5-5) in the first meeting of the longtime Big 12 rivals as nonconference foes.
David McCormack added 11 points and Remy Martin 10 for the Jayhawks, who have won eight of the past nine games in a series that began in 1907 but hadn’t been played since the Tigers departed the Big 12 after the 2012 season.
Javon Pickett led sloppy, poor-shooting Missouri with 19 points. DaJuan Gordon had 11 and leading scorer Kobe Brown, hounded all afternoon by the Jayhawks’ man-to-man defense, finished with five points and six rebounds.
Notre Dame 66, Kentucky 62: Freshman and hometown star Blake Wesley hit a go-ahead, pull-up jumper in the lane with 11.7 seconds left and host Notre Dame (4-4) beat Kentucky (7-2).
Wesley broke a 62-62 tie and Dane Goodwin added a dunk as time expired, prompting fans to storm the Purcell Pavilion court. The Irish scored the final five points in the closing 1:31.
Notre Dame ended a three-game losing skid in its first matchup of the season against a ranked team. The Wildcats had won seven in row. Wesley and Goodwin scored 14 points each for the Irish, who erased a 53-48 deficit with an 11-1 spurt.
No. 11 Arizona 82, Illinois 76: Bennedict Mathurin scored 27 points to power Arizona (9-0) over host Illinois (7-3).
Trailing the Illini by one with 2:22 to play, Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis capitalized on an offensive rebound by putting in a layup. On the next possession, Christian Koloko forced an Illinois turnover, and Mathurin scored an easy layup to make it 79-76 with 1:55 to go.
Mathurin opened the game by making 3 of 4 attempts from 3-point range, and finished 10 of 16 from the field and five made 3s for Arizona. Sophomore guard Kerr Kriisa added 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while Tubelis had 16 points and eight rebounds.
No. 13 Tennessee 76, UNC Greensboro 36: Josiah-Jordan James and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield each scored 12 points to lead host Tennessee (7-2) to
a victory over UNC Greensboro (7-3).
James made his first start since suffering an injury to a finger on his left hand in the third game of the season.
Santiago Vescovi scored 10 to help the Volunteers flush the memory of Tuesday’s loss to Texas Tech.
No. 15 UConn 74, St. Bonaventure 64: R.J. Cole scored 15 points and Connecticut (8-1) surged midway through the second half to beat St. Bonaventure (8-2) in Newark, N.J.
Akok Akok added 12 points and Jordan Hawkins had 11 for UConn.
St. Bonaventure took a 39-36 lead on Jalen Adaway’s two free throws before the Huskies scored 13 straight points to take control.
No. 18 Auburn 99, Nebraska 68: Playing minus suspended coach Bruce Pearl, Auburn (8-1) made 16 steals and routed Nebraska (5-6) in Atlanta.
Pearl began his two-game suspension imposed by the NCAA on Friday. Auburn was placed on probation for four years for unethical conduct involving former associate head coach Chuck Person. Pearl was penalized for failing to monitor his assistant and adequately promote compliance.
Assistant coach Wes Flanigan served as acting coach.
No. 19 Michigan State 80, Penn State 64: Gabe Brown scored 15 points and Marcus Bingham Jr. had 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead host Michigan State (9-2, 2-0 Big Ten) to a victory over Penn State (5-5, 0-2 Big Ten). The Spartans, who have won four straight games, are off to their best start since the 201718
season, when they started 14-2.
Seth Lundy scored 18 points and John Harrar added 16 for the Nittany Lions.
No. 21 Ohio State 73, No. 22 Wisconsin 55: E.J. Liddell scored 28 points and host Ohio State (8-2) shot 50% to defeat Wisconsin (8-2).
The Buckeyes outscored the Badgers by 13 points in the second half, running away with the game after leading by five points at halftime. Zed Key finished with 11 points and Meechie Johnson Jr. scored eight, including a pair of 3-pointers in the second half. Kyle Young hauled in a careerhigh 14 rebounds.
Creighton 83, No. 24 BYU 71: Ryan Hawkins scored 19 of his season-high 25 points in the first half and Creighton (9-2) beat BYU (8-2) in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Creighton built its lead to as many as 20 before the break, helped by Hawkins’ four 3-pointers. Hawkins finished 10 for 18 from the field.
No. 25 LSU 69, Georgia Tech 53: Tari Eason scored 23 points, and LSU (9-0) recovered from a 15-point firsthalf deficit to beat Georgia Tech (5-4) and remain undefeated.
Xavier Pinson had 13 points and Brandon Murray added 10 points for LSU. The cold-shooting Tigers trailed 24-9 before surging late in the first half and then pulling even at 40-40 early in the second half. Eric Gaines made two free throws to give LSU the lead, and he followed with a steal and basket.